Automated Clothes Matcher - Help Match My Clothes

The Problem: It's hard for colorblind people to match clothes

I have a huge dependency upon my wife to make sure I don't dress like a clown. You see, I'm colorblind and it's very challenging to match my clothes. Sometimes, when I'm traveling my wife has to go so far as to number my shirt, pants, and socks so I know what goes together.

Just last week she was out of town and I needed to get dressed up. It was left to me to color coordinate my own outfit. Sure enough, I confused my blue pants with my green pants and wore a blue shirt.

I need a way to know which pants, shirt, shoes and socks go together.

Product: The Automated Clothes Matcher

So I want a product that allows me to take pictures of all my clothes, upload them, tag them, and then will create outfits of what goes together.

For example, I can open my closet and see I have my white and yellow shirt clean. It will then suggest my best matching pants to wear with it, the socks, shoes and belt.

I'm pretty sure that color recognition technology is there and this can be done.

There could even be a mobile service where I can take pictures of clothes while shopping and see if I own clothes that will match it. I've bought a few shirts and sweaters just to find out that they don't match what I thought they would.

The Business Model: Recommend Matching Products

The business model for this is simply to recommend clothes that match the color and style of what I already own. When I purchase matching products, the technology provider earns an affiliate commission.

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What do you think of this idea? 24 comments

great idea Paul but if you are anything like me we would still get it wrong lol.....jimmy

Paul Edmondson 9 years ago from Burlingame, CA Author

Jimmy, Lol, yes, even the best software can't protect against user error:)

Paul Edmondson 9 years ago from Burlingame, CA Author

Now that I've thought about this a bit more, this technology could be great for upselling regular shoppers as well....Would you like these items to complement the new shirt you just purchased.

camedmondson 9 years ago from Hollywood

I think you should keep dressing like a clown. it's fitting.

Paul Edmondson 9 years ago from Burlingame, CA Author

Yeah, I left myself wide open for that one. You never miss an opportunity:)

Chuck 9 years ago from Tucson, Arizona

Great idea, Paul. I'm not color blind and I still have trouble deciding which colors to mix and match. My solution was to get married and let my wife figure out what I should wear - so far she hasn't had a need to be out of town so my system continues to work well.

rachitha 9 years ago from Mangalore

You are so right. I think the dressing part and the colour co ordination is such a challenge for most men.

Paul Edmondson 9 years ago from Burlingame, CA Author

It certainly can be. I have a deal with my wife. If she puts it out, I'll wear it. No questions.

Mischievio 9 years ago from McFarland

I plan on using the colorblindness excuse to explain my own poor taste in fashion. Thanks Paul!

CareyYo 9 years ago from Fullerton

I love this idea. My fiancé is not color blind but has a really hard time putting together outfits. I think he wishes that they would just come as a set. I know that there are some women out there that are slightly fashion challenged too, it would be like having a personal shopper!

Michael E 9 years ago

Hi Paul, Have you had any luck finding this software?

Paul Edmondson 9 years ago from Burlingame, CA Author

Michael, Nope, I have not seen it. Although I think there are people with the technology to do it.

Kristina 9 years ago

Terrific idea! I have a tough time matching stuff and I'm a girl! Would definitely buy this software... where's your VC cash?

Sara 9 years ago

i WOULD BUY THE SOFTWEAR IN A HEART BEAT. i'M PARTLY BLIND AND HAVE TROUBLE SEEING COLORS FOR WHAT THEY TRULY ARE, AND LET'S FACE IT MOST OF US DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT CLOTHES TOGETHER PERIOD. i THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO COME ACROSS SUCH SOFTWEAR!!!!!!

Ed 8 years ago

Here's what you have been looking for, it's been under development for a while.

Ed 8 years ago

Here's the URL: www.clatched.com

Dee 7 years ago

I would definitly buy this software. I am a female but I have clothing coordinating issues myself. I never know what looks good togheter and what donen't. Please let me know if anyone know how or where I could get a progam like this.

Marjorie 6 years ago

Has this business model taken off? Any further exploration? curious...

Ben 6 years ago

My company is developing software that will automatically create outfits from the clothing in your closet. This software is being developed for men only right now.

Sher 5 years ago

I landed on this page because I was curious to see if something like this was out there because I do not see how it could work. What do you mean by "match" exactly? Since fashions change you don't know what colour can "match" what. A few years ago pink and orange was a no-no. Now it's fine. The problem with style is how is a camera meant to know what the garment will look like on your body? i.e. is it high waisted, will it hang loose in some places etc.

The main flaw with this idea is that if fashion could be reduced to a few axioms and codes we could all just learn it.

But I do think the concept is really good - just not very practical :)

JillC 5 years ago

I have been dealing with this and my husband for 30 years now. After spending a ton of time thinking about a good way to develop a clothing matching system, I think I have a system that does not require photos and software. I am working on copyrighting my idea and you may see it marketed soon.

Ben Wolff 5 years ago

Well 14 months ago I said that my company FasterPants was going to build a clothes matching program for men and that's just what we did. It's called the "Oufit Recommendation Engine". The engine algorithmically sorts men's clothing into 3 & 4 well-coordinated outfits. Right now we are marketing it as enterprise software geared toward the online retailer but I think within the year we should have a Home version available. If you have any questions you can reach me at ben at fasterpants dot com.